Effects of ammonium pulse on the growth of three submerged macrophytes

Ammonium pulse attributed to runoff of urban surface and agriculture following heavy rain is common in inland aquatic systems and can cause profoundly effects on the growth of macrophytes, especially when combined with low light. In this study, three patterns of NH4-N pulse (differing in magnitude and frequency) were applied to examine their effects on the growth of three submersed macrophytes, namely, Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton maackianus, and Vallisneria natans, in terms of biomass, height, branch/ramet number, root length, leaf number, and total branch length under high and low light. Results showed that NH4-N pulse caused negative effects on the biomass of the submerged macrphytes even on the 13th day after releasing NH4-N pulse. The negative effects on M. spicatum were significantly greater than that on V. natans and P. maackianus. The effects of NH4-N pulse on specific species depended on the ammonium loading patterns. The negative effects of NH4-N pulse on P. maackianus were the strongest at high loading with low frequency, and on V. natans at moderate loading with moderate frequency. For M. spicatum, no significant differences were found among the three NH4-N pulse patterns. Low light availability did not significantly aggregate the negative effects of NH4-N pulse on the growth of the submersed macrophytes. Our study contributes to revealing the roles of NH4-N pulse on the growth of aquatic plants and its species specific effects on the dynamics of submerged macrophytes in lakes.